Stopped by the police

[TheHighwayMan3561]

I got pulled over on TX 302 (near Loving County) in a car with Utah plates.  Cop said it was due to speeding, but then didn't tell me what speed he caught me going at.  I was even idiotic enough to ask how fast I was going and he pointedly said something like, "Oh, I could definitely let you know if you really need to."  Left it at that.

He let me off with a warning.  It was pretty obvious the pullover was just for being out-of-staters.

Same happened to me in Kansas this summer. He said I was "following too closely" behind a truck, which appears to be one of those nebulously-defined laws that basically leaves it up to cops for their own interpretation to apply when they want to stop someone so they can check on out of staters. He even made me get out of the car and come with him, giving him an excuse to pat down my pockets fdr drugs and weapons.

[J N Winkler]

No mention of my actual speed (I estimated about 76 or so), how much over the limit I was or the 55 limit. After I got home, even my wife commented that he didn't make us switch drivers! He just let a driver without their license continue to drive! The entire time he was at my car lasted about 45 seconds!

I'd say you got lucky.  If this had happened in Kansas, I am pretty sure you would have been ticketed for speeding (21 over is well above tolerance).  The law in Kansas (KSA § 8-244) does use the phrase "immediate possession" in regard to driver's licenses, though Kphoger is correct when he says one can avoid being prosecuted for failure to carry if one later takes the license to court or to the office of the arresting officer.

I have received two traffic tickets while driving, both in Kansas.  One was for speeding in 1995 (66 in a workzone 55 on K-177 between I-70 and Manhattan, which was then being widened from two-lane to four-lane divided), and the other was in 2019 for failure to come to a complete stop at a stop sign (I think the officer felt he had to write the ticket since I pulled out into a gap that was a bit narrower than I should have accepted).  Oddly enough, in the latter situation I was asked for license only, not registration.

[kphoger]

Second, why does Texas require an actual warning ticket to be printed?  Is that to keep records that a patrolman actually gave a warning?  Off the top of my head I can't think of another state that has warning tickets, there must be others. 

I've received a written warning in both Illinois and Kansas.

In Illinois, I was driving a truck for work and my written warning had three different issues (half of the license plate was missing, I was speeding, and something else).  When I got back, I told the office about getting a warning for the license plate.  They asked me for a copy of the warning, and I lied by telling them it was verbal only (not proud of that).  I didn't want them to see the speeding part.

[kphoger]

Then he said: "Nah, I don't feel like going back and looking it up. Just slow down a little". And walked away!

After I went home the other day, I started wondering if you were going to lose the ability to drive a work vehicle, because a speeding ticket that large would probably make you fail an MVR run.

[hbelkins]

I got pulled over in Kansas for speeding on my way back to Springfield, Mo., in a rental car, after the 2013 Wichita meet. It was a local deputy sheriff in some community along US 166. I was in a rental vehicle and gave him all the information I could find on the rental, including the contract and what was an outdated proof of insurance. Turns out, the guy was originally from Kentucky, knew the area where I live, and had lived in the town where I'd lived for six years. He said he'd called the rental company and read them the riot act, telling them he could have taken their customer to jail for not having valid proof of insurance, but was able to verify that the car did, indeed, have a valid insurance policy in force. He ran my driver's license and found I didn't have any warrants, and I can't remember if he wrote me a written warning for the speeding or not, but he was very pleasant and professional.

[LM117]

-  In 2016 I was pulled over on I-20 in western Texas for following a trucker at 500 feet at 70 MPH.  The State Trooper wanted to know someone with a Florida tag wasn't on I-10 and I handed him my travel order showing that I was moving to California.

This kind of crap should be illegal. We have freedom of movement and I should not have to justify why I'm on Road X when he thinks I should be using Road Y.

Agreed. It's none of their damn business.

[Max Rockatansky]

-  In 2016 I was pulled over on I-20 in western Texas for following a trucker at 500 feet at 70 MPH.  The State Trooper wanted to know someone with a Florida tag wasn't on I-10 and I handed him my travel order showing that I was moving to California.

This kind of crap should be illegal. We have freedom of movement and I should not have to justify why I'm on Road X when he thinks I should be using Road Y.

Agreed. It's none of their damn business.

Well the problem is that a lot of people who are really up to something will answer the question or consent to search at that point.  The whole deal of finding a minor traffic violation to pull someone over when they are "suspicious"  is what is called a Pretext Stop.  Basically the premise is that you stop someone for something small and fish for some big like drug trafficking.  Granted the advent of plate scanners certainly makes finding people with warrants way easier than it used to be. 

[ErmineNotyours]

I've only been pulled over once in my life, and that was in Crescent City, just after crossing into California on US 101.  It was late, we were looking for a motel, and my traveling companion pointed to one to the left.  I turned left without looking and cut off a California Highway Patrol man.  I only got a warning.  All this some years after watching CHiPs in the 70s.

Speaking of California, I noticed that the Agricultural Inspection Station in Meyers/South Lake Tahoe is right in the middle of town, so it would be easy to avoid it by just turning off the highway and driving local streets through town.  (The inspection station itself has a bypass lane.)  In that case, law enforcement might be looking for drivers who don't look local.

When a passport or enhanced ID became required to travel to or from Canada, I got a passport.  They recommended I copy it and carry the copy with me.  I did, and the first time I came back from Canada on Amtrak I lost my passport.  I had it that morning when I went into Canada, but I lost it since then.  I showed them the copy, and after a while they accepted it.  (This was back when the Customs agents would board the train in Blaine and inspect while the train traveled south to Bellingham.  Later they stopped the train for the whole time the agents interviewed the travelers, ran the dog down the train for drugs, etc, etc.)  Once they left, I tried again to search all over for my passport.  I finally found it between the wall and the seat.  Wouldn't you know it, the passport is made with the exact same blue color and texture leatherette as the train seat.  What a stupid coincidence that is.

[Tonytone]

I've noticed that their are some officers who are "Nicer & some that are "Ticket Friendly"

I've only received one speeding ticket before, and this was for a speed trap on a wavy road in good ol Elkton MD. which I should have fought but it was already a losing battle due to a little "green stuff". I received this ticket when I was 19.

My other tickets when I was 16 or 17 and they got me for front tint, and a headlight that was out which caused the initial pull over. I ended up only paying the Headlight out one and the Tint ticket was dropped.

One time a DMV mistake which said my license was suspended caused an officer to pull me officer on New Castle Ave in Delaware, I guess the officers were having a bad day because they pulled me over and said my License was suspended and then called 2 other cars for backup.

they cuffed My girlfriend, My friend and Me put us in the police cars, searched the vehicle and after they could not find anything he let them go back in the car and then kept me in the car to talk, He "thanked me for not lying about anything in the car and then tried to figure out why my License was suspended.

He let me out to get in my car, and after he did the 2nd officer was leaving, and I gave him the Middle Bird.

The 1st officer then comes back to my car with 3 tickets "Driving with a suspended license, failure to change address (I just moved) , and a 3rd ticket which was absurd. I had a couple words with the officer and then my girlfriend got into the driver and we drove off.

I was very upset that weekend and couldn't call the DMV till Monday. When I called finally on Monday they said "Oh did you get any tickets, I said "Yes" They said "Ok im sorry about that, come down to the DMV and get this paper proving your license was not suspended it was an accident on the DMV's part, they didn't update your record.

The tickets were dropped and that was the end of it.

Both of those stops were not bad, but I cant get mad because the officers are only doing their job.

on another note I have been pulled over 13 times in my driving career from 16 to 21 3 times ticketed 9 times a warning, but also I was given 2 fake tickets by officers because they couldn't find anything to ticket me for and probably felt pretty stupid.

Also city officers are less likely to give you a ticket when you are pulled over and it's more of a safety check.

Rural officers are more likely to give a ticket since I assume they are pretty bored.

I am Mixed so I can look anything from spanish to black. I am Black/indian/native american.

[Max Rockatansky]

My god, how do you get pulled over 16-21 times by the age of 21?  I was only pulled once in High School for doing donuts in the High School Parking lot after a snow storm. 

[Beltway]

So this happened last night. I'll let you guess the outcome and I'll post later today (or tomorrow or sometime...)
I was driving on 295 North in NJ woth my wife, and got stopped by a State Trooper.  I knew he caught me going about 76 in a 55 approaching Cherry Hill's Exit 34 (He was in an odd spot...I usually see them in the median there, but he was angled on the right shoulder this time). As I was pulling over, I realized my phone, which I had left home by accident, contained my license in the case pocket.
Cop pulls in behind me and approaches the car on the passenger side. Asks for my license, registration and insurance. As I pull put my reg and ins from the glove box, I tell him I don't have my license...
So. How did this turn out for me?

I just opened the thread now, and have only read this one post as I post the below.

His MDT (the computer in his car) should enable him to quickly look up your name and determine your driver's license info.  Your registration and insurance card and other info in your wallet would have your name.  His MDT would enable him to access state and federal databases to look up any other law enforcement info and DMV info that he might want to see.  This would take 5 minutes max.

If everything adds up there, he will know that you have a driver's license, and a good approach would be to not issue any charge for the license. 

As far as the speed I can't predict what he did there.

[J N Winkler]

Besides the two incidents where I received tickets, I have been pulled over while driving and given warnings, including in two countries other than the US.

In Tuam, County Galway, Ireland, a garda pulled me over for passing a slow-moving farm tractor in a no-passing zone.  Britain has a get-out clause that makes it legal to pass in a no-overtaking zone as long as the vehicle being overtaken is moving at less than 10 MPH, but apparently this does not apply in Ireland.

In Chihuahua City, Mexico, I pulled up to a stoplight preparatory to turning onto avenida Flores Magón.  Seeing that there was no conflicting traffic, I turned while the signal was still red, forgetting for the moment that right turn on red is not legal in Mexico, or indeed in most countries other than the US and Canada.  A tránsito (traffic cop) pounced on me right away, in a scooter-like vehicle.  He took my license, studied it, handed it back, and decided to let me go.  I was sweating bullets not just because I was in a foreign country, but also because I was sitting in a car with a Kansas plate on a street named after a journalist and activist who died in federal prison in Leavenworth, Kansas.

Both of these incidents occurred long before consumer-grade GPS logging and StreetView were available, and just now I've struggled to re-find the locations.  In Tuam I think I may have been on what is now the R332 (the road in question had islands and was not far from the garda station), and in Chihuahua I was headed out of the city center for the Periférico.

[roadman]

In my 41+ years of driving, I've been pulled over exactly three times.

First time was in 1989 in my local neighborhood in Lynn, MA for failing to stop at a stop sign.  It was a blind corner where opposing cars would routinely cut the left turn, so I (like most others) would stop well short of the stop sign before proceeding into the intersection.  I note that there was also a large hedge on the right corner of the intersection, which the officer was standing behind.  I fought the ticket on the basis that, as the officer's view of my approach was blocked by the hedge, he couldn't see that I had stopped prior to the intersection.  The magistrate agreed with me and dropped the ticket.

Second time was in 2003 on a wide two lane arterial in Melrose MA when I passed someone slowing down, and signaling, for a left turn.  Noticed the traffic light at the next intersection change to yellow, so I made a hard stop (but didn't squeal my tires).  Officer working a construction detail then pulled me over for illegally passing on the right (which was untrue in this circumstance, per Massachusetts law).  After the officer checked my license and registration, I got away with a verbal warning after getting a short lecture from the officer about how he could have charged me with driving to endanger as well.

Third time was in 2018 on a two lane rural road outside of Portsmouth NH.  Was doing about 40 in a 30 zone, when I came over a rise to see the officer's SUV on the side of the road facing approaching traffic.  After I passed the SUV, I see the lights come on and the officer start following me.  Pulled over at the next wide spot.  Officer gets out, comes up and asks for license and registration, then asks me where I'm going.  Mentioned I was going to see (X), who lived about half a mile from where I was pulled over.  Officer then goes back to his SUV, runs my information, and then comes back.  Hands me my license and registration, and says "I'm giving you a verbal warning.  Just slow down from now on."  As I left, the officer followed me for a short distance, turned around, and went back to his spot just after the hill.

[kphoger]

In Chihuahua City, Mexico, I pulled up to a stoplight preparatory to turning onto avenida Flores Magón.  Seeing that there was no conflicting traffic, I turned while the signal was still red, forgetting for the moment that right turn on red is not legal in Mexico, or indeed in most countries other than the US and Canada.  A tránsito (traffic cop) pounced on me right away, in a scooter-like vehicle.  He took my license, studied it, handed it back, and decided to let me go. 

As in the USA, this law varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

As for the state of Chihuahua specifically...

Capítulo II:  De las señales y dispositivos del control de tránsito

Artículo 78 – En las vialidades y cruceros en que se controle el tránsito a través del uso de los semáforos, se procederá de la siguiente manera:

V.  Frente a la luz roja de un semáforo, los conductores detendrán la marcha del vehículo precisamente sobre la línea de alto marcada sobre la superficie de rodamiento, sin invadir la zona de cruce peatonal. Cuando exista luz roja y después de hacer alto total, una vez cerciorado que no estén cruzando peatones o vehículos con preferencia de paso, el conductor podrá dar vuelta a la derecha o continuar su circulación en carril de flujo continuo, procediendo con extrema precaución;

My translation: 

Article 78 – On roads and intersections in which traffic is controlled by the use of signals, one shall proceed as follows:

V.  Facing a red light on a signal, drivers shall stop the vehicle's progress precisely at the stop line marked on the driving surface, without invading the pedestrian crossing area.  When there is a red light and after coming to a complete stop, upon ascertaining that there are no pedestrians or vehicles crossing with priority, the driver may turn right or continue his maneuver in a continuous flow lane with extreme caution;

A "continuous flow lane" such as mentioned in the statute would be indicated with the post-mounted sign illustrated below.  About this sign, the SCT manual states:

Capítulo II:  Señalamiento vertical

II.2.  Señales restrictivas (SR)

II.2.7.  Uso de las señales restrictivas

SR-10 VUELTA CONTINUA DERECHA

Se emplea en las intersecciones controladas por semáforos en las cuales está permitida la vuelta derecha en forma continua aunque para el tránsito que siga de frente se indique ALTO.

Esta señal solamente se utilizará cuando pueda garantizarse que el paso de peatones tenga prioridad y éste sea respetado por los conductores de vehículos.

My translation:


It is used at intersections controlled by signals at which a continuous right turn is permitted, even though for traffic that continues straight ahead STOP is indicated.  This signal shall only be used when one can ensure that the crosswalk has priority and that such is respected by the drivers of vehicles.






tl;dr – Absent a local city ordinance to the contrary, your turn was legal if there was a sign matching the one above, but it was illegal if not.  At least, that has been true since at least 2007.

[webny99]

21 mph over the limit and no ticket doesn't shock me at all. In NY it would be rare to even get pulled over at all for 15 over or less, and you might even get away 15 to 20 over (but, word to the wise, I wouldn't exceed 70 in a 55 zone or 80 in a 65 zone). That said though, it's just a totally different game here than it is in the Midwest and West, because it's so incredibly, painstakingly, spectacularly obvious that the limits are too low, and not just a little too low, but not even in the right ballpark.

Enforce 65 mph on the Thruway, one of the highest quality roads in the US, if not the world? *snickers*
Enforce 55 mph on a freeway that's actually flowing in the NYC area? *chuckles*
Enforce 35 mph on a road like this? *laughs out loud*

So the speeding part doesn't surprise me one bit, but the no license thing is another whole level!

[MNHighwayMan]

My god, how do you get pulled over 16-21 times by the age of 21?

That is quite the accomplishment, without a doubt.

[kphoger]

My god, how do you get pulled over 16-21 times by the age of 21?

That is quite the accomplishment, without a doubt.

It was actually 13 times (confusion due to lack of punctuation), but still.

[jemacedo9]

I've been pulled over 5 times in 31 years of driving:
1990 - pulled over for doing 69 in a 55 coming downhill from the Tuscarora Tunnel on the PA Turnpike...got a ticket.
1994 - pulled over for doing 45 in a 35 in Medford NJ in one of those traps where the road went from 50 to 35 and the cop was sitting right after the first 35 sign.  I got a ticket and decided not to fight it since the hassle of driving 90 min to court wasn't worth it.
1996 - pulled over for supposedly doing 50 in a 35 in Valley Forge Natl Park...I wasn't...and I actually argued w the ranger for a little but he decided to give me a verbal warning.
2005 - pulled over for rolling a stop sign in Letchworth State Park in NY...which I did, and was given a warning.
2011 - pulled over for not yielding to a pedestrian in a mid-block crosswalk on East Main St in Rochester NY.  East Main St has 4 driving lanes and 2 parking lanes there.  I was in the far right driving eastbound, and the pedestrian just stepped off the curb on the westbound side.  I didn't argue but I said I had no idea why he pulled me over, so he mentioned the crosswalk. The cop ran supposedly ran my info and then said that since everything checked out, he was just giving me a warning.  What he didn't notice was that I was 2 months overdue on my inspection (but not my registration since they weren't aligned).

IN all those cases (except for the Valley Forge one), I was cooperative and didn't attempt to argue.

I've been also pulled over as a passenger twice;
New Years Day 1995 - was in a friends car in Valley Forge Park...a ranger pulls behind her from a side road but with no lights.  She panics because her registration was overdue by one day, and makes a quick turn onto a side road.  Ranger hits the lights and pulls us over.  He commented on the registration and then claimed he smelled weed so he asked to search, to which she agreed.  He found two joints (I had no clue she smoked), to which he cuffed her, asked me to get out of the car, did a pat search on me and found nothing.  He then searched the rest of the car and found nothing.  He told me that he didn't think I had anything to do with that, gave her a citation for both the registration and the possession, and made me drive the car.

1996 - my friend and I were going down a hill in his '95 Firebird in a town marked at 25 - this hill is known for speed traps so we were going 25 in 2nd gear, but cop pulls behind us, follows us for three blocks, then hits the lights.  He gave us attitude and claimed we were speeding, but we argued, and then we sat there for a good 15 min before he ended giving us a verbal warning.  My friends dad had a police scanner and he told us that he had it on and heard the plates being run four times and asked us if anything happened...which it didn't.

[J N Winkler]

tl;dr – Absent a local city ordinance to the contrary, your turn was legal if there was a sign matching the one above, but it was illegal if not.  At least, that has been true since at least 2007.

Thanks for digging up the Chihuahua traffic code and the right-turn-restriction sign from the latest MDCT.  It looks like Mexico is in the early stages of rolling out RTOR since using a sign to indicate specific locations where RTOR is permitted is more restrictive than the American model (which also applies to Canada outside the ÃŽle-de-Montréal), where RTOR is legal by default except at locations indicated by signs.

The incident in question happened around New Year's Day 2003.  I didn't see SR-10 signs at any intersections I encountered, let alone the one where I was pulled over.

[kphoger]

It looks like Mexico is in the early stages of rolling out RTOR since using a sign to indicate specific locations where RTOR is permitted is more restrictive than the American model (which also applies to Canada outside the ÃŽle-de-Montréal), where RTOR is legal by default except at locations indicated by signs.

The incident in question happened around New Year's Day 2003.

That's the earliest reference I can easily find online.  If you have an older file of Mexican traffic laws, I'd be happy to thumb through them.

[Max Rockatansky]

My god, how do you get pulled over 16-21 times by the age of 21?

That is quite the accomplishment, without a doubt.

It was actually 13 times (confusion due to lack of punctuation), but still.

Still impressive in a maximum five year span. 

[ErmineNotyours]

In British Columbia in 1999 I sped past a temporary photo radar installation.  I saw the permanent sign for the possible installation, and I knew the speed in kilometers.  I still exceeded the speed limit as I saw the van by the road, and then the flash as I went by.  I wondered if they would mail a ticket internationally, and they didn't.  They never mentioned it on future border crossings, and I've long since crossed with newer cars.

[1995hoo]

During visits to Cozumel, I recall seeing signs at some traffic lights that had a right-turn arrow with "Continua con precaucion" (or something very similar) underneath. I interpreted that as authorizing right on red after a stop.

[sprjus4]

80 in a 65 zone

Can't comment on New York, but doing 80 - 85 mph on the New Jersey Turnpike is the norm. On my most recent trip, rarely saw anybody traveling below 75 mph and was passed multiple times when cruising at 78 mph. At one point I punched it to 85 mph and joined a flow for a little while, but then slowed to around 70 mph once it dropped to 55 mph.

[Max Rockatansky]

Really in almost every state you're more than likely not going to a target by a highway patrol for speeding until you cross the felony threshold.  Most highway patrols generally frown upon their officers writing high volumes of misdemeanor tickets for speeding.  Most officers don't even like writing misdemeanor tickets because of the paperwork involved.